The Archive to the Elemental Nations
by McPasstel
Summary: At one time, Sosuke wasn't Sosuke and he had parents who actually cared. He promised himself he wouldn't care if these new ones didn't end up loving him. It's hard, though, to pretend like it doesn't hurt. (OC is reborn as Sasuke's twin brother)
1. Chapter 1

He clambers into an opening where the bricks on a house's foundation have fallen out. The hole is small and Sosuke has to press his arms close to his body in order to fit but it works in throwing off his pursuer.

The Jōnin that was following him peers into the hole with a curse. A full grown man like that can barely get his one arm and head into the hole, let alone his whole upper body to grab at Sosuke.

In the enclosed space, the sound of Sosuke's rasping breaths echo loud enough that the Jōnin can hear it and he speaks into the hole.

"Shit, you're injured aren't you?" he pulls away from the opening and stands up. Sosuke can only see the man's ankles but he can hear his shouts for help loud and clear. This was exactly what he'd wanted to avoid, and he wiggles some of the bricks aside to move deeper into the hole.

Eventually, there's a good-sized group of Leaf shinobi and even an ANBU at the mouth of the hole trying to decide what to do.

"I tracked the kid for a good seven blocks because he reeked so bad of blood that I got suspicious. His breathing sounds funny and I think he's injured," the Jōnin who'd chased him into the hole reports to the other shinobi.

A chūnin with a smaller upper body tries to wiggle into the hole at some point to grab Sosuke. He's still running on the adrenaline from the past few days, though, so he reacts when the man's hand gets too close.

The chūnin lets out a yelp and yanks his arm back out to reveal a bloody wound in his palm where Sosuke has stabbed him with a kunai.

They regroup and the ANBU crouches down to look at Sosuke. He shines a light into the opening to see him better. The ANBU lets out a slow breath and it sounds funny when the porcelain mask muffles it.

"The child is an Uchiha," he determines, extracting his light from the hole and standing up to face the other men.

"Should we use a douton jutsu to get him out?" the chūnin who got stabbed asks.

"No, you idiot! You'd bring the whole house down on top of him!" another says.

"The kid is hurt and scared," the Jōnin who had tracked him says, "He's not going to come out unless it's to someone he's familiar with."

The chūnin not so quietly mutters, "Yeah, well they're all dead. So, now what do we do?"

It's silent for a few minutes before one of the men says, "I have an idea. You all stay here and try to coax him out, I'll be right back."

The chūnin grumbles, "I ain't getting near that hole again."

Another Jōnin crouches down to look into the opening while snapping, "Move aside then."

He's an older man with a funny looking burn on his chin that makes it look like he has a beard. He lowers his voice to a smooth drawl, "Hey, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you. You're safe now."

It doesn't relax Sosuke in the slightest because he doesn't trust any of these men to not hand him over to Danzo the moment the old war hawk asks.

...

The ANBU don't even bother knocking before entering the academy classroom. Iruka lowers the chalk he was writing with and Mizuki stands up from his seat at the teacher's desk.

"Can we help you, ANBU-san?" Iruka asks setting his chalk aside and facing the two masked nin fully.

"Your class is dismissed for the day. You and Mizuki-san are to come with us."

The children burst the tense atmosphere with their plethora of questions. The two teachers manage to settle them down and send them on their way before warily following after the two ANBU.

It isn't until they're jumping across the rooftops that Iruka dares to ask, "What exactly do you need from us?"

"It's a sensitive situation. You are the teachers for Uchiha Sosuke, yes?" The ANBU in the pigeon mask asks.

Mizuki pipes up, "Yes. Does this have something to do with the massacre?"

When they get their destination the ANBU in a frog mask quickly briefs them on the situation, "There is an injured child hiding in an opening under this house. We believe that the child is Uchiha Sosuke. Unfortunately, the child is injured and frightened and we have been unsuccessful in getting him to cooperate. We hoped that a familiar face would encourage him to come out."

Iruka nods and moves to the opening to look in. Sure enough, in the darkness he can make out a small form curled up way in the back; the child's rasping breaths are audible.

"H-hey," Iruka starts, sitting down and reaching a tentative hand in, "It's me, Iruka-sensei."

He lets out a slow breath when two red eyes look up at him, "I know you're scared but I can promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing bad happens to you."

He keeps repeating those words over and over and eventually Sosuke uncurls from his hiding spot and starts to crawl towards Iruka's outstretched hand. When he's within reach, Iruka carefully tugs the boy out and wraps him in a tight hug.

The shinobi around them let out relieved sighs and Sosuke is sobbing into Iruka's shoulder. Now that he's in the open, the shinobi are able to catalog his appearance.

The little boy is in his pajamas and the once baby blue garments are stained dark brown with dried blood. Iruka shifts the boy around and a large gash across his throat becomes exposed and Iruka nearly becomes ill when he realizes that he can feel Sosuke's rasping breath coming from a hole in the upper part of his neck where the blade has sliced all the way down to his windpipe.

"He needs to get to the hospital," Iruka says, meaning to hand the boy over to one of the ANBU present but as soon as he starts to peal Sosuke from his person, the child immediately panics.

"No!" it comes out sounding like Sosuke's gurgling gravel but the word is very clear to Iruka.

"It's best not to stress him out any further," the frog masked ANBU says, "-continue to hold him and we will escort you to the hospital."

Sosuke is too weak to cling to Iruka but the man holds him firmly against his chest, anyways. The trip to the hospital is filled with a tense, somber silence and the occasional rasps of Sosuke's breathing.

One of the ANBU had gone ahead and so when they actually get to the hospital, there is a swarm of nurses and doctors rushing to relieve Iruka of the injured child. They don't get very far, though, before the younger of the Uchiha twins starts wailing in fright.

The boy must be running on pure fear alone because he manages to find the strength to dig his fingers into Iruka's vest desperately. Iruka's arms form a protective cage around him and he grimaces at the panicked shouts of the medics.

Iruka turns them away from the crowd and gently rubs his hand over the kid's blood-matted hair.

"I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you," he promises with quiet murmur. He repeats it several times until he starts to feel Sosuke sag in relief.

The second time the medics go to remove Sosuke from his arms; they do so with promises that Iruka will be right outside waiting for him.

The little boy's eyes flash red in suspicion and he has to be pried from Iruka's vest, but they manage to get him on a gurney.

It's complete chaos the entire time Uchiha Sosuke is in surgery.

Iruka gives a statement of the day's events several times and the perpetually stressed third Hokage makes an appearance at some point.

Iruka scrunches his nose at the man when he walks into the waiting room; Hiruzen has a bad habit of chain smoking when upset.

"We had wondered where his body had gone," the old Hokage grumbles as he looks out the waiting room window.

Iruka is staring at the chipping blood staining his hands and admits, "I've never seen someone so scared before."

Hiruzen glances back at him with a grim expression but doesn't say anything.

...

When Sasuke first wakes up after the massacre, he's told he's the only survivor. While he mourns the thought of his parents and cousins, he's especially distraught over the loss of his twin brother.

Sosuke had been meek and weird at the best of times and their parents had never really paid much attention to him. Sasuke had been deeply protective of the younger boy and hadn't minded the way Sosuke had clinged to him desperately.

The loss of someone who he'd vowed to always protect is incredibly disheartening.

At least, it's that way until he's informed that they'd managed to find his younger brother and that he was in fact alive. They won't let him see him, though, no matter how much Sasuke begs.

He figures out why a few weeks later when his brother is finally removed from the ICU and placed in a standard hospital room.

By this point, Sasuke hasn't been in the hospital and has already returned to the academy. It's quite jarring to see the state Sosuke is in right after school on a sunny Tuesday afternoon.

There's a terrible noise coming from some machine that's hooked up to a tube going through his twin's neck. Sosuke thankfully isn't awake to watch Sasuke have a breakdown at his bedside.

The ANBU stationed at the door of the room give Sasuke a clipped recount of Sosuke's injuries.

His throat had been cut so deep that he was lucky he was alive.

The wound is covered with bandages, so Sasuke can't see how bad it is, but based on the tube the boy is breathing through; he knows it's bad.

...

The removal of the breathing tube in his neck turns out to be painful after the fact, as does the strict health care instructions he receives to ensure he heals well.

"While we've removed your tonsils, you are still incredibly susceptible to illnesses such as strep throat. You'll need to ensure that you are diligent in washing your hands and body frequently and keeping your living area clean."

The medic is cool and clinical in his speech, "You will find speaking to be particularly painful for awhile until the inside of your throat heals fully; try not to speak unless absolutely necessary."

Sasuke, who's sitting beside Sosuke, is furiously writing every word down as if the doctor's word is a gospel. Sasuke had thrown such a fit when he first saw the ugly scar marring Sosuke's throat that the younger of the twins doesn't have the heart to not let Sasuke care for him.

...

The moment he's allowed to stop wearing bandages on his throat, he goes without them. Anything near his neck now feels too tight and invasive. Sosuke knows its just PTSD from having his throat cut open, but he can't shake the fear.

Sasuke visibly grimaces at the sight of his throat when he comes down for breakfast that morning. Sosuke can't even wear the standard high collars that the Uchiha are known for without feeling too tight _too much_ **_going to die_**.

So, the scar, that's jagged and grizzly, is clear on display and Sosuke doesn't give a shit about anybody else's comfort if he's being honest.

Sosuke croaks out a greeting to his brother and immediately goes for the freezer for some ice cream to sooth his aching throat. That, and porridge are the only things that don't feel like his throat is being torn to shreds with every bite.

Due to his near completely liquid diet, Sosuke has become gaunt and skeletal that's all the more obvious when he and Sasuke are standing side by side.

The other kids at the academy stare at Sosuke's throat in horrified silence when he walks in that morning.

Iruka flinches terribly at the sight as well, and sends Sosuke an apologetic grimace.

The scar goes nearly all the way around his throat; clearly showing that whoever went to kill him had meant to decapitate him. Sosuke's sure that it's a terrible thing to look at.

Thank god his cousin Shisui had been stupid enough to teach him the shunshin technique.

...

Sasuke knows that his brother had experienced something terrible the night their family was murdered. Sosuke had been clingy before, but now he has full-blown panic attacks if they're separated for too long.

Sasuke doesn't want to ask him why, mostly because he doesn't want to make his little brother relive something so horrifying. He's curious, though, as to why Itachi tried to kill him and also about how he'd managed to escape.

When Sasuke goes to the secret meeting place of the Uchiha in Nakana shrine, he thinks he knows how Sosuke got away. Under the stairs is a tiny gap in the stone that is smeared with blood.

Sosuke must have hidden here for a good while before escaping from the compound.

...

The academy instructors tell Sosuke he doesn't have to spar yet if he doesn't think he's ready. He thinks he is until Inuzuka Kiba makes the mistake of getting too close to his throat in their spar.

Something snaps in Sosuke's head and he blacks out. When he becomes coherent of his surroundings again, he's being dragged off a bloody Kiba, kicking and screaming.

Sasuke tells him that he had gone ballistic and had started hitting Kiba over and over again even though he was already down.

Sosuke is mortified and terrified of what that might mean about himself.

Iruka takes him to the Hokage's office and there's a long discussion about the future progression of Sosuke's training.

He stares down at his bruised knuckles and wonders if this means he'll be a good weapon.

They don't let him do spars with his classmates after that, and instead he has to do all of them with either Mizuki or Iruka. His classmates are afraid of him now.

...

"Do you think I'm crazy?" Sosuke asks Sasuke one night over dinner.

Sasuke's head snaps up and his face pinches into a fierce scowl, "Who called you crazy?"

Sosuke shrugs and he doesn't answer out loud because the both of them know that everyone thinks he's crazy.

"People are scared of things they don't understand," Sasuke says and Sosuke is taken aback by how wise those words are, "You've experienced something that they don't understand; to them you are crazy."

"Not to you, though, right?" Sosuke asks.

Sasuke gives him one of his rare smiles, "Yeah, not to me."


	2. Chapter 2

Before Sosuke was Sosuke, he was- well, it doesn't matter now. It's hard, though, to abandon himself in spite of his relative newness. Before he was Sosuke, he was a weirdo. He was the kind of guy who spent a little too much time in the woods and not enough on relationships.

If he had ever managed to get a tentative jump start on a friendship or otherwise, it was immediately extinguished by either his off-putting personality, or by his odd hobbies. Very few people had been able to stomach his-frankly-disturbing amount of animal skulls and pelts that he would meticulously collect. Not for any reason other than because he was so fascinated by nature and her creatures that he wanted to study everything he could about them from their coat patterns to the their joint movements.

That's why he can't help himself the moment he's allowed to wander a bit outside, he immediately goes in search of things like bird feathers and animal dens.

His new mother frets constantly over his abundant curiosity and his father tries to steer his attentions elsewhere.

It's probably pretty disheartening to his new parents when they realize that he isn't going to be the perfect child soldier like his older brothers are. His cousin, Shisui, tells him that he isn't Itachi or Sasuke. He tells him that he shouldn't worry about trying to be them and neither should his parents.

None of that is said in the presence of the clan head or his wife, but Sosuke knows that Shisui thinks it strongly.

...

Sosuke is an outlier and everyone can tell. For how much Itachi and Sasuke love him, they struggle with his bouts of oddness. They never outwardly discourage him, though; not like their parents.

Mikoto always makes sure to at least pretend to be interested in his hobbies, even if she doesn't understand. Sosuke can appreciate that.

Fugaku, however, never hides his utter disappointment in his youngest son.

At one time, Sosuke wasn't Sosuke and he had parents who actually gave a shit. He promised himself he wouldn't care if these new ones didn't end up loving him. It's hard, though, to pretend like it doesn't hurt.

Sosuke spends a lot of time hiding from his family; sequestering himself away deep in the woods where he has his sketchbook and nature.

His oldest brother, Itachi, and his cousin Shisui, are very supportive of his hobby. Shisui often returns from missions or training with animal pelts and skulls to add to his collection. Itachi always makes sure to collect any bird feathers he sees for Sosuke to study.

Sasuke lets him cling to his side like a parasite and tells Sosuke that he isn't as weird as everyone makes him out to be. For someone like Sasuke, that's practically a declaration that Sosuke is the embodiment of perfection and normalcy.

Sosuke tries to pretend like he doesn't care about anyone or anything but he's always been horribly transparent.

…

"No skulls at the dinner table," Mikoto says with a strained smile and Sosuke looks up from his illustration in surprise. Fugaku is sending him disapproving looks from over the top of his newspaper.

Sosuke flushes and grabs the deer skull and his sketchbook and quickly runs them back upstairs.

His parents must think he's going to take his time, because when he comes back they're talking about him.

"-He's not normal," Fugaku says gruffly and Mikoto shrugs.

"It's embarrassing, what the clan and villagers say about him," he continues, "Sosuke brings dishonor to the Uchiha."

The conversation is cut short by the sound of the front door opening as Itachi and Sasuke return from their training. Mikoto greets the two warmly and Fugaku looks over their battered bodies with fondness.

Sosuke sneaks back upstairs and tells himself he doesn't care about this fictional family.

Before Sosuke was Sosuke, and before he woke up in a world that wasn't his own, the manga/anime series of Naruto had been a work of fiction. His new parents had been deeply stressed by how fussy of baby Sosuke was because every time he was reminded of where he was, he'd immediately panic.

He wasn't ready to be a trained killer by the age of twelve, he wasn't ready to try and circumvent terrible travesties that would undoubtedly occur in a few years' time. Sosuke wasn't ready to watch his oldest brother kill their whole family.

Itachi comes and finds him sometime after the dinner that Sosuke had decided to skip. He's sitting on his bed and carefully running his hands over the rabbit pelt his cousin Shisui had brought back for him after a training trip.

Itachi frowns at him.

"Is everything okay?" he asks kindly, sitting next to him and bumping their shoulders lightly together. Sosuke sets the pelt carefully next to himself.

"Mother and father hate me," Sosuke says with a shrug, trying to stay impartial to the revelation.

Itachi's face pinches and he doesn't try to go an defend their parents; it's a telling reaction.

"Shisui said he's going to try and get you a tiger skull this week," Itachi then says, changing the subject.

Sosuke's spirits do admittedly lift at the prospect; he'd never gotten a chance to examine a tiger skull in person in this life or in his past life.

Itachi ruffles his hair before leaving the room and Sasuke comes in after with a raised brow at Itachi's retreating form.

"What was that all about?" Sasuke asks while making his way over to his own bed and flopping down onto the surface.

Sosuke shrugs and tries to pretend like their lives won't go to shit in a few years.

…

Shisui is grinning down at him, "You were looking for a Fire Country tiger skull, right?"

Sosuke nods eagerly and takes the nearly perfect skull, "Thank you."

His cousin chuckles and muses his hair, "It'll be a useful hobby someday."

Sosuke grimaces but forces a smile and tries to agree. It hadn't been useful in his past life and Sosuke is certain it won't be useful in this new one where children are taught to kill before they learn to read.

…

Sosuke is sketching a spiderweb during a break at the academy when he meets Abarame Shino for the first time. The bug user is one of the only kids in the class who don't openly gape at the smile shaped scar across Sosuke's throat.

…

Sosuke and Shino become quick friends, mostly because the bug user isn't disgusted by Sosuke's collection. In fact, he brings Sosuke insect samples. Things like left over cocoons from butterflies and cicada shells start to fill Sosuke's collection.

It isn't long before he starts learning to taxidermy insects so that he can create scientific mounts.

Shino even lets him see some of the Abarame insect research and shows him their own taxidermy process.

Sasuke is just glad that someone is spending time with Sosuke. He spent an inordinate amount of time worried about the mental state of his little brother and Sosuke getting a friend puts his anxiety at ease.

…

The Abarame clan is unusually forward when Shibi approaches Sosuke after school one day.

"If there is anything you or your brother require, the Abarame clan will do our best to effectuate it."

Sosuke stares up at the man in surprise before croaking out, "Thank you."

He nods and returns to Shino's side to continue to walk him home.

Sasuke comes up to Sosuke, "What was that all about?"

Sosuke shrugs and they too go back to their empty compound.

…

Sasuke's little brother has a terrible habit of purposefully putting his foot in his mouth just to watch other people squirm. He isn't sure why Sosuke gets such a kick out of the uncomfortable expressions people make; Sasuke secretly thinks it might be because he almost got beheaded—that Sosuke is using this as some way to sort through his trauma.

Thank god their parents aren't alive to hear some of things Sosuke says, though, otherwise Sasuke is certain that alone would have put them in an early grave.

"Ducks have incredibly long penises in proportion to their bodies," Sasuke hears Sosuke say to an unfortunate stranger who had asked them about their day, "humans are horribly outmatched."

Sasuke pinches the bridge of his nose and tries to pretend that they aren't related even though they're identical twins.

…

Sosuke spends a lot of time in Yamanaka Flowers sketching the various plants and even purchasing a few to add to his pressed flower collection.

Yamanaka Ino is one of the people that's wary of Sosuke's temperament and so she thankfully doesn't interact with him more than necessary. Her father, however, loves to chat with Sosuke.

"Your collection of Fire Country plants is almost complete, right?" Inoichi asks one day while watering the daffodils next to them.

Sosuke nods, "I've been wanting to start documenting Wind Country cacti but I can't find anyone willing to stop to collect samples for me during a mission."

Inoichi pauses in his watering and hums thoughtfully, "You know, I might know someone who would be willing to grab a few samples while on a mission. He'd want something in return, though."

Sosuke's head snaps up and he looks at the man in confusion.

…

The person that Inoichi was speaking of is an ANBU captain who's working on a murder case. The masked operative, who goes by the name Opossum, shows Sosuke a single feather of a bird.

"This was found at a crime scene and we have been struggling to identify what kind of bird it came from."

Sosuke carefully takes the feather and examines it. It's a contour feather and Sosuke can understand why someone who doesn't know much about birds would struggle to identify such a common place feather.

Sosuke, however, has been making careful documentations of different species of birds for years now.

"I can tell you it's not a native Fire Country raptor," Sosuke begins with a hum, gesturing for Opossum to follow him.

Sosuke leads the operative to the main house and up to his bedroom where he starts riffling through the many boxes of animal samples he's collected.

He gets to the feathers and carefully starts comparing the contour feather in his hand to the others in his boxes.

"I think that I've found your bird," Sosuke says while lifting up the shoe box of feathers for the ANBU to see, "It's a Grass Country Eagle. Probably not a fully matured one, though."

The ANBU tilts his head curiously at Sosuke and is silent for a bit.

"Your collection is quite impressive," he compliments while looking about the various boxes surrounding them.

Sosuke blushes, "A-ah, thank you. I like studying plants and animals."

…

It becomes something of a weird side job for Sosuke after that. Shinobi of the Leaf come to him with samples found at crime scenes or with questions about wildlife in certain areas.

In exchange for the information, Sosuke requests that they bring back with them from their missions.

…

Sasuke thinks it's both ridiculous and impressive that his weird little brother has become something of a wildlife and plant expert that shinobi come to for information. Their cousin Shisui had always said that Sosuke's odd hobby would come in handy some day.

…

It isn't until about a month before graduation that Sasuke complains to Sosuke about how much space his plant and animal collection takes up in their house.

True to his twin's complaints, every available wall space is filled with taxidermied insects and small mammals. The hallway is lined with boxes here or there that house pelts or skulls. Their father's old office was cleared out and the bookcases were filled to the brim with Sosuke's scientific illustrations.

Sosuke flushes in embarrassment, he supposes it is starting to get out of hand, "What should I do?"

Sasuke rolls his eyes and knocks their shoulders together, "Don't get rid of it, or anything."

…

Sasuke wants to tell his brother that he doesn't have to be a shinobi if he doesn't want to be. It's obvious to anyone looking that the younger of the Uchiha twins is far more interested in putting together his meticulous collection than training.

At the same time, Sasuke doesn't want Sosuke to ever be in danger ever again. Becoming a shinobi and training would ensure that Sosuke grows strong and capable.

…

Abarame Shibi comes up with the suggestion to open Sosuke's archive to the public. The Abarame clan even puts the down payment in for a building in with the single request being that they are allowed to use the archive whenever they want.

They could honestly take the archive and Sosuke wouldn't care, he's so thankful.

It's only open on weekends and on hours Sosuke isn't in class at the academy, but it sees a lot of use from the same shinobi clientele that Sosuke has been working with for years now.

Sosuke has a sign placed on the outside of the building proclaiming it to be The Field Archive to the Elemental Nations.

Inoichi tells Sosuke one day that he's actually considered one of the leading experts on wildlife in Fire Country. Sosuke thinks it's a joke but is deeply honored when that fact is proven true when he starts getting clients from other countries coming to him for information.

…

Kakashi eyes his new students warily, already dreading dealing with them. The twins are pressed close together and are identical in every way except for the weird nervous smile on Sosuke's face that doesn't mirror Sasuke's own irritated scowl.

Sitting at a point higher up than them, Kakashi can make out where the scar from Itachi's blade mars Sosuke's neck. He hadn't been there when they found him, but the other ANBU had told him about how the wound was deep enough that air was being released from it every time Sosuke breathed.

He drifts his gaze over to look at his former sensei's son who is grinning widely up at Kakashi.

"Alright," Kakashi says with a clap, "Let's all introduce ourselves."

…

It's clear that Sosuke can get along with whomever is placed near him and that his easy going demeanor both curbs Sasuke's anger issues and compliments Naruto's bursts of energy. Kakashi is thankful for this because it at least allows for the beginnings of a solid team to develop.

However, it's glaringly obvious that despite Sosuke's benevolent disposition, there is something wrong with the preteen. Kakashi isn't sure if it's PTSD induced or if the kid is just weird, he thinks it might be a combination of both because he just needs some kind of hobby or obsession to finish off his I've-seen-the-worst-of-the-world attitude that Kakashi is intimately familiar with.

Sosuke also doesn't talk much but when he does only the oddest, most nonsensical things leave his mouth.

For instance, one of the first things the kid said to Kakashi was, "So, what's with the mask? Is it horrible disfiguration or is it so we don't see your super secret identity?"

Kakashi just stared at him, not sure what to make of the question and before he can try to give an answer, Sasuke cuts him off, "Don't bother, he's just trying to get you to react."

…

Sosuke has a lot of odd fears; getting almost murdered can do that to a person. To cope, he has a method of weeding out those he thinks he should be afraid of and those that are safe.

Sosuke knows that Root members are incapable of expressing true, earnest emotions and he capitalizes on this fact. Sure, saying vaguely offensive, quirky things on the regular makes him look deeply unhinged, but it provides great intel on the people around him. Normal people all react to his dirty, callous comments with the same pinched, unsettled grimace. The reaction is key because Sosuke knows that a Root member would never be able to react the correct way to his questions and comments.

It's the only thing that gives him any sense of safety anymore because he won't try to pretend that he even has the slightest chance of protecting himself against the heavy hitters like Danzo, Orochimaru, Madara, or is own brother. So, he just tries to tackle one villain at a time and the current one he feels most inclined to avoid is Danzo, especially because Sosuke is fairly certain Itachi wasn't supposed to let him live.

…

Kakashi is starting to pick up on Sosuke's strange reactions to strangers and so he begins to carefully catalogue the way Sosuke interacts any time he meets someone new. The boy doesn't reign himself in in the slightest when it comes to his comments and he already has a mark in his file that any and all diplomatic interactions should be avoided for the sake of avoiding war.

Lord help them if Sosuke ever opens his mouth in front of the Daiymo.

However, Sosuke's fear of strangers is warranted considering the life he's lived so far, but Kakashi is confused about the strange way in which he determines trustworthiness. He even pulls aside Sasuke one day to ask.

"He's always been weird," Sasuke says with a huff like he's annoyed but Kakashi can see the deep set worry behind his eyes, "Sosuke just has a hard time expressing his thoughts, is all, and so he comes off as crazy."

Kakashi braces himself for the next line of questioning, "Did he change after that night?"

Sasuke knows what he's talking about and he visibly recoils at the mention but doesn't run away like Kakashi was worried he might. Sasuke's face pinches as he contemplates.

"A little," he admits, "He's super scared of strangers and has a thing about us being alone or separated from each other. But, I figured it was just because he was nearly decapitated."

Kakashi sighs, that would do it he supposes.

"Why is he scared of strangers? Why not people he knows?"

Sasuke gives him a look like he's sick of all the questions but there's a flicker of something behind his eyes that tells Kakashi he's wondered the same thing.

"He's never told anyone about what happened to him as far as I'm aware; not even me. You'd have to ask him about it because I'm not going to be the one to make him relive his worst nightmare."

With that Sasuke stomps off but Kakashi is left with more questions than answers.

He goes digging later that night, through Sosuke's personal file. The thing is an inch and half thick and is filled with medical examination reports and teacher evaluations that all describe him as an odd and deeply unhinged child. There's hardly anything from before the massacre and Kakashi doesn't need to ask to know that Sosuke and Sasuke weren't the priority within their family by a long shot.

True to Sasuke's word, there is no recorded recounting of what happened to Sosuke that night. No one even mind walked him. They'd just patched up the boy's throat and sent him on his way without so much as a passing glance.

A product of the system, unfortunately. Kakashi was one too and there would always be more.

….

It isn't until they're in Wave and the others are asleep that Sosuke approaches Kakashi on his own. The jōnin is lounging on the roof during his watch shift when the youngest of the Uchiha twins settles next to him.

It's quiet between them for a long time before Sosuke, so soft that Kakashi almost can't hear him, says, "I didn't even feel it, I was so scared."

Kakashi doesn't need to ask what he's talking about, it's glaringly obvious in the way the Sosuke refuses to look over at him and is touching his neck thoughtfully.

It takes several minutes before Sosuke manages to work up the courage to look over at Kakashi and when he does, the jōnin is struck by how open and vulnerable the kid looks.

"It's been years and my fear has only grown."

Kakashi turns his body to face Sosuke, "Your fear of Itachi?"

Sosuke flinches at the name and gets an odd look on his face before shaking his head, "I'd never be scared of him."

Kakashi frowns at that because, what?

Sosuke levels him with another exposed, frightful look, "What do you do when you have secrets that you know you can't tell?"

Kakashi doesn't like where this conversation is going, but tries to appeal to his charge, "It depends on the secret, I suppose."

The preteen is getting worked up and his breaths are coming out fast and shallow. In the most devastated voice he cries, "I can't tell anyone."

Kakashi sets a hand on his shoulder, "You can tell me and I can try and help you where I can."

…

Kakashi doesn't know whom to consult so he corners Tenzo one day when he's certain the man will be in his apartment. The ANBU operative answers the door and gives him a dry look, "Not that I don't enjoy your visits, Senpai, but why the hell are you here at four in the morning?"

Kakashi shoves his way in and ignores the, "Just invite yourself in, I guess," that Tenzo mutters under his breath.

"I need to talk to you about something."

The other man must hear something in Kakashi's voice because he doesn't hesitate to quickly close the door and erect the privacy seals lining his apartment.

Kakashi relays everything that happened in Wave as well as Sosuke's odd, flighty personality.

Tenzo frowns when he finishes, "I don't know, Kakashi-senpai, I think the kid just has a lot of trauma."

Kakashi shakes his head, "No, you don't understand. You should have seen him, Tenzo, the kid was terrified beyond all belief at just mentioning what happened during the massacre."

"Well he did have his throat slashed," Tenzo remarks.

When the ANBU operative realizes that Kakashi isn't going to let this go he sighs, "Well, what did his reports say?"

Kakashi starts pacing, "That's the thing. No one ever asked him what happened. There are no reports."

Tenzo sits up straight, "One of only two people to survive this village's most horrendous massacre, and no one interrogated him about it?"

Kakashi shakes his head, "Sasuke said that Sosuke's never even told him about what happened that night. It's a mystery how he even survived."

….


	3. Chapter 3

During the Wave mission, Sosuke had made it a priority to try and copy the hand signs to Kakashi's summons. He thinks he might actually have gone off the deep end because Sosuke knows that reverse summoning oneself can result in death, but damned it all if he isn't curious.

They get a week off to do whatever they want once they get back and Sosuke makes some half-assed excuse to Sasuke that he wants to go over to Shino's to sketch some new bugs. Sasuke just waves him off and Sosuke goes and finds the most abandoned training ground possible.

He knows the signs-he practiced them until his hands cramped-but he still hesitates before forming them. Sosuke gives himself one last chance to back out but doesn't end up taking it as he flies through the summoning jutsu with a wide grin.

Sosuke can feel a migraine setting in when he sits up and comes face to face with a dune colored… is that a jackalope? The rabbit with antlers starts charging at him lightning fast and Sosuke only just manages to jump up in time to avoid having his face speared through.

Instead, the jackalope's antlers go into his calves and he lets out a string of curses that would make the most hardened shinobi blush.

"Oi! What the hell was that for?" He demands rubbing the bleeding areas on his legs with a pout.

The creature cocks its head to the side and in Sosuke's voice mimics, "Oi! What the hell was that for?"

Sosuke feels a chill go down his back at hearing the accuracy in which he was copied. Perhaps reverse summoning himself wasn't such a good idea after all.

Other jackalopes come hopping into the clearing and soon enough Sosuke is surrounded by sharp horned rabbits. As a last ditch effort he tries reverse summoning himself again, hoping it will take him back home.

He lands with a thump in the training grounds he left in and promptly passes out in relief.

…

Sosuske, embarrassed and pissed off, limps home slowly that night. Sasuke thankfully doesn't ask what happened to him but he does eye his legs with a raised brow.

Those fucking fur balls didn't even give him a chance to try and ask about signing a contract! Sosuke spends the next few days seething with rage over the entire predicament. His soul mate of a summoning animal is a complete prick and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little bit hurt by their hostile reactions to him.

It isn't until Sosuke is wandering the village in the middle of the night that he gets an idea on how to appeal to the little bastards. There's a bartender hauling two battered jounin out by the scruffs of their shirts and depositing them on the ground. A bar brawl, no doubt, but it kind of gives Sosuke a weird idea. Alcohol was known to make some persons more aggressive but he wondered if it could have the opposite effect if the someone was already a dick.

When Sosuke returns to wherever it was that the jackalopes were from, he comes prepared with a bottle of whiskey that he had to use a henge in order to buy.

He holds it up in offering and the creatures eye him before one that is clearly the leader hops forward a few paces.

"Alright, you've got our attention," the jackalope says, "What do you want?"

Sosuke returns home later that night, drunk off his ass, but with a summoning contract in hand.

Who knew that the way to win over a jackalope was to get it drunk?

….

Kakashi's visible eyebrow shoots up when he sees Shinamon for the first time and only just barely gets out of the way in time before getting his legs gorged by the bloodthirsty beast.

Sosuke is on the ground giggling at the display of his teacher taking safety in a tree.

"Sosuke, what the hell is that thing?" Kakashi asks with a glare in his direction.

The laughing boy gathers Shinamon up into his arms and cuddles him close, "It's one of my summons! This is Shinamon, isn't he adorable?"

Kakashi's deadpan expression earns himself another round of guffaws.

"I wouldn't say adorable so much as evil."

Shinamon copies the copy-nin perfectly and his teacher doesn't look any more amused than he did before.

Shinamon, tired of the game, turns around in Sosuke's arms and looks up at him, "Where's my whiskey, brat?"

Sosuke groans but reaches into his bag to pull out the mostly empty bottle to pour a shot for the jackalope.

"You would get an alcoholic for a summons," Sasuke grumbles from his own tree.

…

Sasuke bangs on the door, "I swear to god, Sosuke, if you make me come into your creepy ass room to wake you up."

Naruto sends a worried glance to Sasuke, "Is he okay? Why won't he come out?"

Sasuke groans and rests his forehead against the doorframe, "He must have had a migraine last night. Whenever he gets those he becomes sound sensitive and so he'll go to sleep with earplugs in. The dumbass won't wake up unless someone goes in there and bodily does it."

Kakashi rolls his one visible eye, "Just go get yourself ready, we'll wake your brother up."

Sasuke departs with a vaguely thankful look on his face and Naruto slowly opens the door.

The room is covered in various knickknacks and oddities that fit Sosuke's quirky personality quite well. The walls are adorned in strange paintings, clay masks, and charms. There are several glass cases that line the far wall and have different kinds of skulls and pelts displayed in them. The floor is covered in dirty clothes and discarded scrolls and other miscellaneous items.

Sosuke himself is face down on his bed sleeping with the covers half strewn off the end of the bed and Kakashi sighs. Naruto only momentarily hesitates before stepping around his stuff to get to the bed and shaking his prone teammate's shoulder.

Sosuke takes in a sharp breath and lifts his head, squinting in their direction for a moment before he rapidly jumps up. He gets tangled in the bed sheets and goes tumbling across the floor with a yelp.

"Shit! What time is it?" He asks while fighting his way out of his bed sheets.

Kakashi looks down at him with an amused look, "Congratulations, you're later than me for once."

Sosuke sends him a dirty look before digging through a pile of clothes in the corner of the room. Kakashi assumes that must be the 'clean' pile. Sasuke sticks his head into the room to see what all the commotion is about and scowls.

"You're disgusting, Sosuke," he says while kicking a few pairs of shirts away, "You're room is a pigsty!"

Sosuke sighs and runs a hand through his messy hair, "Yeah, I'll clean it up later."

When the younger of the twins stumbles out of the room and into the light, none of them miss the dark bags under his eyes. Sasuke gets a pinched look on his face before he says, "You'll probably never get it done unless I help you."

It's his way of apologizing, Kakashi realizes.

Naruto links his hands together behind his head, "Are you okay, dude? You don't look so hot."

Sosuke just waves him off while he shuffles his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth, "I'll be fine once I get some coffee in me."

Before Sasuke closes his brother's bedroom door, he takes one last look into it and frowns.

…

Kakashi claps his hands together and cheerfully says, "We're going to be doing tours of different departments today."

His three genin send him bored looks before Sosuke, from behind the rim of his coffee cup, says, "Why?"

Kakashi waggles his finger at him, "To see the different jobs you can have after you advance, silly."

The three of them groan but obediently follow after him like a row of ducklings when he starts walking.

Their first stop is a large, non-descript building that Kakashi helpfully declares is T&I.

Sosuke squints at Kakashi suspiciously but doesn't comment when he ushers them inside. Ibiki is standing in front of the security desk waiting for them with his arms crossed and his meanest look being sent their way.

Immediately Naruto and Sasuke freeze up under it but Sosuke just takes another drink of his coffee while staring back at the man. Ibiki's steal gaze drifts over to Sosuke and the boy gets that look on his face that tells Kakashi he's about to say something stupid.

"So," Sosuke starts and everyone but Ibiki groans, "are you just one big guy in a trench coat, or three smaller men stacked up on top of each other."

Ibiki's scowl deepens and a bit of killing intent leaks into the air, "What the hell did you say to me?"

Kakashi chuckles and sets a hand on Sosuke's head, the boy is still deeply unaffected and sipping at his coffee.

"Mah, as you can see, my cute students are all very quirky."

Ibiki doesn't look amused outwardly but Kakashi can see the little twinkle in the interrogator's eyes that points towards him being fondly intrigued by the child.

"When was the last time your student had a psych eval, Hatake?" Ibiki asks while pining his gaze onto Kakashi.

Sosuke visible stiffens and clutches his coffee cup so hard that the styrofoam dents. The boy sends an accusatory look to Kakashi that the man ignores.

"He's never had one that I'm aware of," Kakashi says and tries not to care that he's lost all the trust of one of his students in a mere matter of seconds.

"Well he's getting one today," Ibiki says turning on his heal, "Follow me, brat."

Sosuke shoves his coffee into Kakashi's hands so hard the liquid sloshes over onto his vest and stalks after Ibiki with a scowl.

Sasuke and Naruto both send glares Kakashi's way.

"You're a real jerk, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto declares and exits the building with a huff followed closely by Sasuke.

...

Tenzo meets up with Kakashi in the ally way behind T&I.

"It's for the best," Tenzo tells his former ANBU captain, "Ibiki is the best one to get him to talk about stuff."

Kakashi nods but runs his hand through his hair. He feels like what he did was mean, after all, while Sosuke was weird, he never hurt anybody because of it.

…

Sosuke stares with a bored expression up at Ibiki with his arms crossed in front of him.

The interrogator smirks and takes a seat on the other side of the table while setting Sosuke's personal file down on the table top. He opens the folder and starts riffling through the contents.

"Are you aware that you have a mark in your file that declares you unfit for diplomatically sensitive missions?" Ibiki asks, leaning back a bit.

"I can't imagine why," Sosuke drawls, "I'm universally popular and well liked."

Ibiki raises a brow at that and pointedly slides the thick stack of complaints against Sosuke forward.

The boy pretends not to notice.

"Your current and past sensei's think that your strange disposition is a type of defense mechanism. Would you say that's true?"

Sosuke cocks his head to the side as he thinks, "Well I have to weed out the lizard people some how."

"Lizard people?"

The boy nods fervently, "Yeah, you know. They walk around wearing human faces but aren't. You'd be surprised how many there are out there."

Ibiki crosses his own arms and level the genin with a stoic look, "I would start taking this seriously, if I were you. You are being reviewed on whether or not you're fit for service."

The boy adverts his gaze and slouches down into his seat.

Ibiki decides to try a different tactic, "Kakashi was telling me that you got a summoning contract recently. He said you were pretty excited about it."

Sosuke nods shyly, "They're jackalopes. They're kind of grumpy but I love them a lot."

Ibiki frowns, "I don't think I've ever heard of such a creature before."

The boy sits up, starting to get more comfortable as the conversation progresses, "They're basically rabbits with antlers; although, don't say that to their faces. I didn't think they existed but surprise surprise they do."

"Have you gotten forehead protectors for them yet? You can get ones specially made for summons."

Sosuke quirks his head to the side again while he thinks and earnestly says, "No I haven't. Do I have to pay a fee or anything?"

Ibiki promises to get him the forms to look over before he sends him on his way.

The two of them converse about summons and training for a good while and Ibiki waits until Sosuke looks fairly comfortable before starting his next line of questioning.

The man points to the scar on Sosuke's neck, "Do you ever get phantom pains? I get them all the time, especially from the ones on my head."

Ibiki pulls off his bandana to show the boy who grimaces at the sight of them.

Sosuke shrugs, "Not really, but I get sore throats really easily now."

Ibiki nods in understanding, "You know, your records show that you've never given an official account of that night. You're one of only two people to have survived, so your statement would be very helpful in the case."

Sosuke's face goes blank and Ibiki is surprised by how quickly the boy was able to school his features, "I don't remember what happened."

Ibiki presses, "Not even a little bit?"

The boy shakes his head, "Just blood."

"You were found along the west wall of the village hiding under a house, two whole days after the massacre. You attacked anyone who tried to reach in to get you out."

Sosuke shrugs, "And?"

Ibiki leans forward to rest his elbows on the table, "Somehow you managed to get away and not only survive Itachi, but miss being found by ANBU."

"I'm just really good at hide-and-seek I guess."

"Is revenge something you think about? I know Sasuke has mentioned it to Kakashi a few times that he himself would like to enact justice on Itachi," Ibiki says and the man can't help but feel like he's poking a sleeping bear with the cold look Sosuke sends him. The kid is absolutely fearless, the man thinks.

"I just want to do my thing and keep my head down," Sosuke says smoothly, "I'm not the kind to go looking for trouble."

Then, Sosuke leans forward, "Whether or not trouble finds me, however, is a different story."

…

Sosuke leaves T&I with a blank face but internally he's well into the middle of probably the worst panic attack he's literally ever had. Sosuke doesn't waste any time reverse summoning himself to the Sleeping Forest (the home of the jackalopes).

He takes a heavy seat at the base of a tree and waits a few moments before he starts screaming. The strangely supernatural wildlife of the forest startles at his shrieks and they scatter quickly. The jackalopes remain, though, watching him with their beady little eyes as Sosuke tries to get all his feelings out.

When he's finished he's curled up on the ground, panting for breath, and his summons approach him cautiously.

"You alright, kiddo?" Shinamon asks and Sosuke just shakes his head.

He isn't fucking okay; he just got a first hand experience in the bowels of T&I because he'd made the stupid mistake of letting someone other than his brother see his breakdowns. I guess this was just a note to himself that he couldn't trust anyone in this world, not even Kakashi.

When he's calmed down a little bit more, Sosuke sits up. He's never going to let himself be in such a vulnerable position ever again if he can help it. However, it seems that fate wouldn't be on his side.


End file.
